


One Time

by LittleDidTheyKnow



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: And parts of it shouldn't have happened, Because Matt Murdock needs to WORK to get back in our good graces, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Karedevil Week, The Defenders Didn't Happen, but not when it comes to hot things, exCEPT THAT I AM, i'm not bitter, slow slow burn, working on issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-07-02 16:12:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15800058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDidTheyKnow/pseuds/LittleDidTheyKnow
Summary: Post-Daredevil Season 2Matt is still Daredevilling and working on getting his career back on track. Karen is working her ass off to distract her from… things. Foggy is happily enveloped in his relationship with Marci. Our core three are in a sort of limbo after the Castle trial, but Nelson & Murdock quickly learn that the pressure of a partnership being lifted helps their friendship. Karen, however, has kept her distance from Matt for months.Until she runs into Matt for the first real time since he revealed his superhero identity to her. They talk about things that were left in the air so many months ago, including the one thing that left her frustrated after their amazing date.Basically, Matt and Karen talking about things... and trying to keep their hands off each other. And trying to be friends... But not being able to keep their hands off each other.They’ll figure it out eventually.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Meinhiding](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meinhiding/gifts).



> This was the first story I started writing after the Defenders pissed me off (I know, tell us about how you REALLY feel!). 
> 
> It's mostly frivolous, but there is still discussion of issues, and happy moments along the way. It basically came from my own frustration over the fact that we never got any pay-off with our OTP and I figured it’d be a LONG time before Karen and Matt could get on a decent page, so…
> 
> Why not just have them in situations where they can’t contain themselves, but they continue not dating after? Because my lovable idiot needs to WORK to make that happen again.

Matt Murdock sighed in relief as he floated in the water.

His best friend’s words rang in his ears as the bubbles surrounded him. “Ten minutes and you’ll be out like a light, Murdock. Just don’t drown, please. This place is already expensive, and the last thing I need is them blaming me for the insurance premiums.”

He knew that jokes meant they were on the road to recovery. And Foggy’s laughter when he told him that it would probably lower the property value and therefore make rent _less_ expensive was the highlight of his week.

Normally, immersing himself in a tank of aggravating sounds would send him down the road to a massive headache, but today it was almost like white noise that blurred everything around him and allowed him to think. He couldn’t believe it had taken him so long to take Foggy up on his standing invitation to use his new building’s rooftop hot tub to ease his aching muscles. Matt had been going out more often since destroying his firm. He was lucky enough to get back into Foggy’s good graces with time. Removing the professional burden did wonders for their friendship. If only it hadn’t had the opposite effect on Karen Page.

Well, that, and a few other things destroyed his relationship with the woman who had only ever wanted the best for him, but thinking about that only made him sad.

“It’s pretty late to be out here without a lifeguard, _Daredevil_.”

He popped out of the water, shaking up his head so that the water left his ears. He hoped he hadn’t just heard her voice in his mind. It wouldn’t be the first time.

But it was her. It was so undeniably her, he had to take a moment to catch his breath.

Matt didn’t like to count the number of days it’d been since he’d last seen Karen (But it had been six months and three days to be exact.) Revealing the truth had gone better than he’d expected.

She hadn’t even been angry about his nightly activity of beating the shit out of people in a mask. It was all the lying to cover it up.

 _Of course_ , she’d wanted space after his big reveal. Which made her next question that much more ridiculous.

“You’re out here pretty late. Did you want to be alone?”

He smiled. _Not_ _a_ _chance_.

“Well, I _was_ trying to avoid anyone seeing the bruises. But you’re ok, I guess.”

He didn’t know why he went straight to sarcastic. It was his go-to when he was nervous. Make people laugh... hope for the best. And she did exactly that, which made him feel much better.

“ _Well, if that isn't the best invitation I've ever gotten_....”

She took off her dress and rested it on top of the towel she’d brought, easing her way into the hot water and letting out a breath as her body adjusted.

He hadn’t heard a smile in her voice in forever. He felt a twinge in his heart, but he ignored it.

“I'm a people pleaser, Page. But, you’re right, safety is much more important. You know how to swim? Or did you at least bring a life jacket?”

“I was a lifeguard one summer, so I’ll be alright.” Karen sat across from him and put her hair into a messy bun. It was just far enough away to confuse potential bruises on his face with shadows. “And I owe you a few, so I’ll save you if necessary.”

He imagined a scenario involving fake drowning where he’d end up in her arms. It wasn’t a bad idea. It also wasn’t a _good_ idea.

“I don’t think Foggy realizes this isn’t his own personal hot tub. The tenants probably don’t appreciate him inviting random people who don’t belong in their precious community.”

“I’m sure you’re right, but I’m not about to tell him that. How did you get in, Ms. Page?”

“I flirted with the doorman,” she laughed. “That’s what Foggy told me to do. I assume you did the same?”

“I wish. I had to use the billy club to get up here.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Wait, really? That thing has that kind of range— _you’re messing with me!”_

“I haven’t tested it on this kind of height, but I’m going to assume it would be very time-consuming and involve many failed attempts before I pulled _that_ off.”

“So Foggy let you in then?”

He nodded.

“He left my name with Ziggy downstairs, so, you _could say_ that the Page name has pull.” she laughed as she opened a water bottle and took a swig.

“You brought _wine_ in a water bottle, Page?”

“I did indeed.” She moved closer and handed it to him.

He took a drink. “I did this all wrong. Why didn’t I think to bring refreshments?”

“If I’d have known you’d be here, I would have gotten a six-pack.”

Matt shrugged. He didn’t plan ahead for anything, really. Not anymore. “I kind of just showed up.”

“I figured. Otherwise Foggy would have told me before I—“ She pursed her lips. “I mean, he would have given me some kind of a…”

Matt nodded solemnly. “You know, _I_ can be the one to leave, Karen.”

She gulped as tears came to her eyes. “That’s not what I meant. I didn’t… Foggy knows it’s been a while. I actually just told him I was going to call you soon…”

“You don’t need to make me feel better, Karen. It’s completely understandable.”

“Matt, it’s not that I can’t be around you… It’s not that at all.”

“I know.” Matt nodded. “But you don’t trust me enough to… be around me in an ‘alone-like’ capacity yet. And we aren't going to date each other, I get it.” He wasn’t about to ask if she ever thought that could change. He was too afraid of the answer.

She pursed her lips sadly. “I want to. I mean I want things to be perfectly fine between us…”

Matt would have done anything to make her feel better. The fact that she was so worried about what she said broke him in two. His mistakes had a lasting effect on the people he loved. Foggy may have acted like things were getting better, but he wondered if it was really possible to forgive a person like him for doing what he did.

What happened between him and Karen was completely on him.

“You were the last person I wanted to fail in such a spectacular fashion.”

She nodded and crafted a suitable answer.

“I’m doing fine, Matt, I am. It’s just that… It took some time to realize how much you hurt me.”

He nodded. “I hurt a lot of people. I’m… I’m working on being better.”

She looked down at the reflection of the moon in the water. For some reason seeing him torn up like this made her want to fix everything. She had to tell herself that she couldn’t be the one to do that this time.

“We love you, Matt, we do. And I know you are trying really hard to be different and I appreciate it. You apologized and you don’t owe anyone anything anymore, ok?”

“I don’t know why you’re trying to make _me_ feel better…”

“From what you told me, you lost a lot, Matt. And no matter what you did, I want you to be happy.”

“I want you to be happy too.”

It was absolutely true. He didn’t expect anything after what he’d done. He was so happy both Karen and Foggy had landed on their feet. He was even more surprised that he’d done the same himself, even if it was to a lesser degree.

“Well, I am.” She said as honestly as she could. She had been lonely, but she was also proud of making things happen for herself. She’d learned to be resilient long before she’d moved to New York. “It’s not so bad, actually. It’s nice to focus on work instead of focusing on holding everything together. Or looking for romantic attachments.”

Matt couldn't help but be happy over the last part, which made him feel worse.

“You’ve been doing really well. I love to read your articles.”

She had hoped he kept up with her and assumed it was hard not to. Somehow she had become _the_ reporter for vigilante happenings, and Daredevil sightings were becoming more and more common.

“That’s because you’re a narcissist who loves to read about the good _you’ve_ been doing,” she said sarcastically. Even now, she wasn’t good at taking a compliment.

He chuckled. The first time he’d seen her name attached to an article about Daredevil, he couldn’t believe it.

“I have some pointers for you if you’d like them…”

She laughed, “oh, you do, do you?” She sunk into the water and let the bubbles massage her neck in anticipation of what he was going to say next. Whatever it was, it was going to be good.

“Your articles have been factual, which is good.”

“Well thank goodness,” she laughed.

“It’s just that… I don’t know...”

He wasn’t the only one who could be sarcastic. “Don’t hold back; I can handle the criticism.”

“I’m fairly certain that your articles would be better, if… I’m trying to find the words to say this… if you used more adjectives describing my physical prowess? Oh, and the rugged handsomeness. Can’t forget that.”

She scoffed.

He cleared his throat in mock indignation. “I’m just _saying_ , if you mentioned these very truthful descriptions, criminals might just _give up_ their illicit activities. You’d be doing everyone a favor.”

“Oh really?”

“Absolutely. You hear that Daredevil is getting stronger by the day, or his muscles are far larger in person than in the photographs— they might run scared.”

“And the rugged handsomeness?”

“I mean, you don’t _have_ _to_ include that, but, it is the _truth._ ”

“Who says objectivity is the cornerstone of journalism?”

“Not this guy.” Matt gave her one of his magical smiles and she melted. “Wait a second, don’t tell me you don’t agree with facts, Page. If you need to feel these biceps for a reference, by all means…”

“Damn it, Murdock.” She took another gulp of wine and tried her best not to look at his muscles.

“You might be surprised, but, I’ve heard that same phrase many, many times.”

She laughed. “Maybe you have changed…”

“You have been away for far too long. I’ve always been a smartass. It’s part of the Murdock charm.”

She flicked water at him, but he threw his hand up and blocked the splash. She rolled her eyes.

“So how is that working for you?”

He made the ok sign with his hand and smiled a little too much. “Oh, it’s working great.”

“I can see you haven’t gotten less sarcastic.”

He sighed. “You want the truth?”

She was afraid of the answer, but she went for it anyway. “Of course.”

“That’s the last thing I’m thinking about right now. I don’t know, just the idea of meeting new people... The more people I let in, the more I feel guilty about lying.”

She was happy to know that there was at least some guilt there. He was never going to have a lasting relationship with anyone if he kept going down that road.

“So you're just going to be alone?”

“Isn't that what you're doing?”

Karen sighed. It was precisely what she was doing, and she was fine with the results.

“Not forever. And isn't this _exactly_ the reason everything went to hell for you?”

“Yeah, but that was with people I cared about. I don't need to go making _new_ friends, I guess. Or searching for a girlfriend. I don’t know how to trust someone with a secret this damning.”

She looked down sadly and he touched her hand in the water.

“That’s not what I meant, I…”

“It’s fine, Matt.”

He sighed and let go, turning toward her and making sure he had her full attention.

“I _did_ trust you, Karen, I was just too wrapped up in my own bullshit.”

She nodded sadly. Part of her didn’t blame him for keeping that big of a secret. But only part of her.

“If you hadn't been desperately trying to make things better after the shit show that was last year, do you think you would have told me?”

He answered quickly. “Oh yeah.”

That was a surprise to her.

“You sound so sure.”

“I was going to tell you before our next date. But then I screwed everything up…”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. That kiss we had... When you asked me to come up? There were two thoughts in my mind. One was that I didn't want to interrupt things from progressing… because you would have known the minute you saw this,” he indicated to himself, but she still couldn’t see anything, really. “And the other thought was... if you somehow _didn’t_ notice... We were taking one more step and I didn't want things to continue with that kind of hidden truth…”

She smiled. “So you’re saying you were ready to spill a secret you'd kept from me for months... _because of sex_?”

“That makes me sound pretty terrible, doesn't it?”

“It does.” She laughed. “But it makes me feel a little bit better. An insecure part of me wondered if you just _didn’t_ … I mean, I thought things were going well and then you said you were worried about things going from good to disaster… I really didn’t know what that meant when I thought about it later, I… I’m rambling. And it’s not important anymore.”

Matt tried to hide his dejected smile, but she noticed, and she had to look away to stop herself from feeling terrible. It was something she’d wondered for a long time.

“I was such an idiot. You were _never_ the issue, Karen. I wanted what you wanted, and turning you down wasn’t even the biggest mistake I made in our relationship...” He sighed. “I never _liked_ keeping a secret that big from you. But it went really poorly with Foggy, and I was trying to find a better way to break the news, I… I just didn’t know what that was. Knowing I couldn't keep myself from dating you anymore... _that_ was the catalyst. Not... _losing you_.”

She nodded. Sometimes he said exactly the right things and this time she was sure that he meant what he said.

“Well I get it. And I was just messing with you about your reason for telling me your secret. I completely get that too.”

“You telling me that _you’re _a secret vigilante?”__  

“I’m saying that you had a lot going through your head, that night, but I only had one thing going through mine.”

He sputtered at her admission.

“ _Hey_ , Murdock!” she laughed. “Don’t judge me for wanting sex. That was an amazing night before you screwed it up. And it’s been a while, so I may revent you more for that, alright?”

He smiled. “Believe me, I’m not judging you.”

“Our makeout was the last bit of action I’ve had in a long time. And it had been at least six months before that…”

They have never had the “previous partners” conversation, and he had to wonder just who she had been seeing during the time she worked for Nelson & Murdock. Nobody she was willing to introduce to her friends, apparently.

“Well, it’s been much longer for me if it makes you feel better.”

She looked him up and down. “You act like I haven’t heard Foggy mention your sexcapades numerous times.”

“My ‘sexcapades’ were actually excuses for my exhaustion and my bruises from being Daredevil…”

It finally made sense. 

“He bought that?” She handed him the wine bottle so that he could finish it off. He thought about the fact that the arm that rested on the wall of the hot tub was dangerously close to her shoulder, and made a conscious effort to grip the wall so that he didn’t accidentally touch her.

“He needed someone to live vicariously through. I’m not proud of that being the fake reason, but it was better than the ‘alcoholic’ lie he tried to spin for you.”

“Wow, you really played this all wrong. If you had told me earlier, I could have been your _excuse_.” She joked. “Oh, that bruise on his jaw? Don’t fool around in a closet, Foggy. You might get a broom handle to the face.”

Matt burst into laughter. “You would have been happy with that?”

“I mean, only if I was also getting something out of it... Those abilities of yours have got to have good results.” She covered her mouth in surprise. She couldn’t believe she said what she’d been thinking for so long. 

He turned bright red, and she took it as a sign that it was true. But she got distracted quickly, gasping and turning into his shoulder. 

“Oh my god, Matt, there's a bare ass in that window!” She covered her mouth to giggle at the man in the window adjacent to their building. 

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Matt laughed before leaning in to whisper. “Did you just move closer to me so that you could get a _better view_?”

She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. “Is that a problem?”

“Nope. Not even a bit,” he chuckled.

She watched a woman step next to the man in the window. She looked like she was laughing her ass off. 

“Since you knew he was naked I assume you know what they’re saying, right?”

“Yeah. I heard his jeans hit the floor and the subsequent laughter.”

“Wow, I never thought about this being a consequence of your amplified hearing. So you just hear people having sex every night?” 

It was a funny thought. She always thought about his abilities in relation to his nighttime activities, but now she was thinking about every random thing he must have heard or smelled in his regular life. She had so many more questions. 

“It’s the reason headphones were invented. Well, not really, but that’s what I tell myself.”

“Wow,” she laughed. “You poor thing!”

“It’s good to know that you’ve taken such an interest in my abilities.” He wasn’t forgetting her admission that she’d thought about his sexual prowess, but he left his response open to interpretation. She smiled, but she didn’t bite. 

“You could have been telling me juicy details about people I don’t know every time there was an awkward silence, Matt! That’s on you!”

“Just add it to the list of ways I’ve failed you, Page,” he chuckled.

“ _I’ll try to forgive you_ ,” she said dramatically. “You can start earning that forgiveness by telling me what they’re saying.”

“You really want to know? It’s pretty mundane.” 

“He’s still standing there naked, so there has to be something interesting going on.”

“Well, they were talking, I think, I heard it for a second and then focused on you—”

“You’re a true gentleman,” she said with a smile.

“But she has a very big laugh— which keeps getting my attention,” he explained. “She came back from the bathroom or something and he was… like that.”

“Interesting. So they’re together?”

“I don’t think so.” He listened for thirty seconds and answered. “It sounds like they’re trying to be friends? He just told her that he was too tired to go home —she’s laughing now so that’s going well— and she’s saying, ‘that's not how this thing works, we're broken up’ ...Oh.”

He grew silent as he continued to listen.

“What?” She said nervously. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah. Yeah. It’s just self-indulgent crap, Karen.” He looked almost guilty.

“The way you’re acting has me even more intrigued.” 

“He’s just... no good at this. He said he just wants to make _her_ happy, but she doesn’t seem to believe him,” he paused again to listen. “She told him that _he_  was the one who broke up with her, and… He’s just brought up some time they had together at some hotel—” he cringed again.

Karen laughed. “You’ve got a regular soap opera playing out before you and you sound so depressed.”

“It’s just hard to listen to another person who’s screwed up what they had.” He said before quickly changing the subject. “And this guy sounds like he cares about one thing.”

“Probably. Or, maybe he really wants to get back together.” He could hear the lie in her heartbeat, but she was always good at playing the devil’s advocate.

“Doubtful. He seems like he’s unbelievably bad at this.” 

“You think you’d do better?” She laughed. “I mean, this guy is really going for it.”

“I wouldn’t start by dropping my pants, that’s for sure.” 

She threw her hands in the air. “You’ve lost me!”

He smiled from ear to ear and she had to force herself to look away. Luckily, things were getting interesting. The man and woman appeared to be smiling at each other, and she was pushing her hair behind her ear.

Karen rested her head on Matt’s arm. “So, keeping your pants on is step one. Then what?”

“Getting this close would be a good start.” His voice had become softer, but still careful. One wrong word and she might leave, or worse: never speak with him again. 

She nodded against his arm. They had very few moments of skin to skin contact, and she’d made it happen without even realizing it. “It clearly isn’t very difficult.”

“Well, you _do_ need a fake reason to look up at people who are about to get busy,” he laughed. 

“True,” she said as she dripped water up his forearm. “What would you say?”

“What would I… well, I mean, if this hypothetical person was already this close, I think I’d say something like,” he tilted his head against her temple and whispered into her ear, “it’s really nice to see you. I’ve missed you like crazy.”

She turned her head a little more towards him, closing her eyes as he continued.

“And I hate that I’m the reason we’ve had to be apart. It’s the last thing I ever wanted.”

Her brow wrinkled, and her heartbeat gave her away.

“Maybe something along the lines of, ‘I'm sorry. And I know you don’t want to be with me, but— I'm having a hard time being this close to you, when—“

He stopped abruptly as the lights to the patio went out. Karen looked at the door immediately as she searched for whoever turned them off. 

“Who did that,” she asked him quickly. She moved closer as he listened. 

“Don’t worry, Karen, we’re the only ones out here. It was on a timer.”

“Oh,” she said in relief. “I don’t know why I got so nervous... I guess it’s the whole, girl in just a swimsuit worried that someone they don’t know is nearby… thing.” 

He wanted to say, “I’m right here, and I wouldn’t let anyone come near you if you didn’t want them to,” but he kept his mouth shut. He was probably pushing it already. 

She took a breath and looked back up at the couple.

“They’re moving closer together,” she said with interest. “What are they saying?” 

“She's saying, ‘this is never going to work…’ he paused to listen. “He's saying… ‘I had to try.’”

It worked. The woman moved closer to him and kissed him.

Karen looked away wistfully. She had the man she’d wanted and she was practically in his arms. She wanted more than anything to be in his arms again.

“You didn’t finish what you were saying,” she said as she outlined a bruise on his shoulder, the only proof of injury she could see in the light. Her lips were begging her to kiss it.

He stopped her finger and wrapped his hand around hers. Karen looked up at him and waited. 

“I was saying, if it were me... I’d probably point out the fact that… I’m having a hard time being this close to you, when,” she opened her hand and weaved her fingers with his. “When all I want to do is kiss you.”

There it was: the truth wrapped up in a hypothetical. And something they both wanted even though they danced around it all night.

He tilted his forehead against hers and sighed sadly. “And I know I don't deserve anything. I don’t even deserve to be able to see you again in a friendly capacity…”

Her lip quivered as she reached her palm up to his jaw.

“...But I never want to disappoint you like that again.” 

“You don’t?” There was such a sadness to her voice which brought out an emphatic and resounding:

“Never.”

She gravitated the last few inches toward him and the water moved up to his shoulders. He licked his lips nervously as she let go of his hand, reaching up to turn his face just slightly before kissing him softly, taking her right back to their last kiss— a moment she had held onto for months even though she didn’t want to.

Soft turned to hungry quite quickly. Suddenly he was pulling her on top of him and moving his hands up her sides, clutching her to him as she ran her fingers through his hair. He murmured against her lips as she pressed into his scalp. 

Matt broke from her lips and glided his mouth down her cheek, over her jaw, and to her neck. She moaned against him, his fingers reaching the strings of her bikini, which he played with against her back. 

Matt couldn’t hear anything around him anymore; getting wrapped up in Karen Page did that to him. It was something he’d only felt a few times, always with her. Every goosebump, every sigh, and the shallow breaths she took as she tried to find the words…

Karen told herself to use her brain instead of the force that was driving her to take her clothes off then and there. He stopped his lips mid-kiss and it was enough for her to get the strength to speak. “We shouldn’t… this is such a…”

She moved from being practical about their situation to thinking of logistics: how many steps it would take to get to a bed. Or a chair… or the patio rug...

His hands slid down to her lower back as he pulled away from her neck and nodded. “I’m so sorry, I—“ she placed her fingers on his lips as she tried to think. His face was comical as he waited, pressing a single kiss to her two fingers.

“We talked about… I’m forgetting what we just talked about.” She removed her fingers and drifted them over his neck leaning against him, and dreaming of the taste of his earlobe. 

“About how you don’t want to date, and I’m, undeserving of a second or fourth or whatever chance I’m on…”

She wanted to disagree, but she was mesmerized by the goosebumps on his neck and the way he hung onto her like he needed to have her. She nodded against him. “Dating’s a bad idea and our situation is complicated, and…” she kissed his neck and he threw his head back as his eyes rolled back. 

“Yes, complicated,” he said as his hands migrated up her back and she grinded against him.

“So what do we do about that?” She pulled away from his neck and kissed his earlobe before tugging at it with her tongue.

“Whatever you— whatever you want,” he sighed happily.

She couldn’t help it. She laughed. 

He just smiled. 

There was no way she was going to be the one to walk when he had that damn smile on his face.

“What if it were just one time, Murdock?”

“One time?”

“It wouldn’t mean anything.”

He shook his head. “Nothing at all—“

She moved closer to him and he tilted his head against hers. “What could it hurt?” 

“I— I can’t think of a single thing.” He ran his hand along the side of her face, finding his way to her lips. She kissed the tips of his fingers and shifted as he continued. “I promise to be perfectly detached.”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded as he pressed his fingers into her lower back. She started moving her hips again, and his hands found their way down her sides until he was cupping her ass. She took one short breath and his heart started racing. Then she ran one hand down his stomach to the ties of his swim trunks.

Matt closed his eyes as Karen’s finger pulled at the strings and then found their way inside his waistband, grazing his skin before she pulled at the elastic so that there was give. He didn’t move, letting her kiss his neck and tease him.

“You sure about this?” She said playfully. He smiled from ear to ear.

She bit her lip and then released just in time for him to lift her quickly and switch positions so that she was in the corner and he was on his knees in front of her. He found the ties to her bikini bottoms and pulled ever so slowly.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

A phone vibrated against the plastic, and it was so jarring for the man with extra-sensory hearing that he covered his ears. She watched him nervously for a second before grabbing the phone and stopping the vibrations. 

Matt removed his hands and sighed, sitting next to her. 

“I’m sorry, I—“ she started. The message was from Foggy, warning her of exactly who was upstairs since she’d told him she’d stop by. 

“Don’t be sorry.” He smiled. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“Foggy, however…” she said with an edge to her voice. She threw her newly-silenced phone onto her towel and looked at him. They'd lost their momentum, but that meant nothing. She could—

“We can’t do this here, can we?” he said carefully. He moved to the space next to her and let his head rest on the back of the tub. 

He was right.

“I don’t think so,” she said sadly.

“And we probably _shouldn’t_ … right?”

Every mistake he’d made since their first date came back into his mind in full force. If he hadn’t ruined everything, he wouldn’t have to remind himself that he did not want to take that step with her in a hot tub like a teenager. He wanted time. He wanted her skin on his sheets, and silence so that he could immerse himself in her.

They could have had moments like the one he pictured a hundred times over, had he not screwed everything up.

“Probably not.” She sighed.

She meant it, but she didn’t want to mean it.

 


	2. Group Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foggy and Marci con Karen into going on a group blind date.

Karen Page stared at the fish tank in the Chinese restaurant she had been conned into visiting, counting tropical fish to avoid falling asleep. Twenty-seven gorgeous and brightly-colored creatures who were luckier than her in that moment. Or was it twenty-eight?

 _Better count again,_ she thought.

“Let’s remember that not everyone at the table is interested in law, Bruce.”

Karen heard her date’s name and looked at attention for a moment, but he ignored Marci and finished his thought.

_He is such a tool._

She didn’t feel guilty thinking it. It was the truth.

Karen moved on from counting fish to thinking about the cherry pie she was rewarding herself with on her way back from this catastrophe. Marci and Foggy were trying to get her to be “social,” and when she promised she was over Matt and willing to be around him again they suggested a group date. 

So she found herself backed into a corner and somehow had agreed to go on a blind date with her ex/whatever-he-was. It was really masterful now that she thought about it. 

“Karen?”

“What? Sorry,” she said quickly. She looked at the well-coiffed man who loved talking about contract law and smiled. 

“Oh, I was just saying, I don’t normally do the blind date thing. I’ve never really had a hard time meeting women, if you can believe it.”

“Uh-huh.”

She smiled and batted her eyelashes turning to Foggy, who gulped. He knew that level of niceness was dangerous. Not so much for everyone else at the table, but definitely for him.

“But _Franklin, here_ , has this photo of you on his desk, and I’ve asked him about you a few times, actually.”

“Wow, really?” She took a drink of wine and glared at Foggy over her glass. Bruce didn’t notice.

“Valerie is running late,” Marci said quickly. It had already been twenty minutes. They all knew at that point that she was late.

“Thanks for the update, Marce. This was going so well I didn’t even notice!” Karen said sweetly. Marci smiled back, which meant she was officially playing ball. 

“Your date is quite the sports fan, Bruce.”

Foggy looked at both of the women like he didn’t understand what was going on. Neither of them blinked.

“You don’t say! I just went to a Yankees game and was thinking about how much fun it would be to bring a date,” he said happily. “My office has box seats. I try to go every game if I can.” 

Karen imagined a lifetime of sporting events and tried not to cringe. She’d heard baseball players were at least enjoyable to watch from behind, but no amount of beer or perfectly-toned men in tight white pants could distract her from the tedium of the game or the sound of Bruce’s incessant droning.

“What a perfect second date!” Marci spoke with more enthusiasm than either Foggy or Karen had ever seen before and Karen almost laughed. Foggy resorted to his fear state and started taking note of all the exits. Three windows, one front door, and a hallway that had to have _something._

There was no way Karen was going to humor the direction the conversation was going. 

“I’m sorry, Bruce, but I don’t really watch sports. I’m afraid my friend is confusing me with someone else,” Karen said with the same scary smile. “Sometimes she forgets the kinds of things I _like_.”

Marci broke and chuckled. The standoff was over. 

“Oh,” he said dejectedly. “It’s cool. I’ll win you over yet.”

Karen turned to the door in an effort to prevent the entire table from seeing her eye roll, and locked on to a beautiful woman who seemed to be searching the room. Marci waved at her and she headed back to their table. 

“I’m sorry for being so late, guys. Hi, I’m Valerie,” she said shaking Karen’s, Foggy, and Bruce’s hands before sitting next to Karen. She sat her phone on the table and looked back up at everybody. “Traffic was terrible. It took me 45 minutes to get three blocks. I should have just walked.”

“It’s rush hour.” Bruce informed her.

She barely mustered a smile. “I know.” 

“You can barely get a cab at rush hour, let alone get a few blocks.”

“Well I did the first one,” she said with a chuckle. 

Bruce asked Foggy a question and Valerie took that chance to whisper to the woman sitting next to her. “Please tell me that is not _my_ date.”

Karen choked on her water. “Nope, unfortunately for me, that’s _my_ date.”

“Oh god,” the woman laughed. “I mean, maybe he’s not that bad…”

“You’d be wrong.” Karen said. 

“ _I’m so sorry.”_

Foggy noticed the whispers and cut Bruce off. “Your date is late too,” he said quickly. “Maybe I should give him a call.” The situation was already more awkward than he could stand. 

Marci touched her boyfriends arm. “I’m sure he’s on his way.” She could tell Karen was already annoyed, and she herself was bored out of her own mind. This whole thing was Foggy’s idea and she was not letting him off the hook that easily. Marci Stahl didn’t set people up on blind dates and she definitely didn’t try to pull off what they were trying to pull off. 

Valerie and Karen were already back to talking. She had recognized the reporter’s name from her byline and was beaming at her luck. 

“I can’t believe I can tell people I met _the_ Karen Page,” she said excitedly. 

“I’m not sure you’re going to get much of a reaction to that,” Karen laughed. No one had treated her like a pseudo-celebrity before. 

“Are you kidding me? That school board scandal article was really eye-opening! And that one you did on corrupt campaign financing?“ 

Karen smiled. “Both of those stories are the result of good tips. Most of the time they don’t pan out.”

Karen looked at her date, who was focused on his phone. She didn’t really care that he didn’t give a shit about her life, but he sure as hell wasn’t good at faking it. “That’s really interesting.”

She hadn’t been on a date in a while, but she was pretty sure the guy wasn’t supposed to be on his phone 60 percent of the time. To be fair he had talked about himself the other 40 percent. That could be considered _effort_. 

Matt’s date seemed to be equally involved in her own phone for a moment, responding to a text message and turning her sound up.

“I’m so sorry, I’m on-call tonight.” She placed the phone on the table and waved like she was done. “I didn’t plan to pick up a shift, but my friend came down with something, so I agreed to help out.”

“I don’t mind,” Karen said honestly. She was always “on-call” to a degree. “Where do you work?”

“Oh, I’m a nurse at Metro General.” 

This time it was Foggy who choked on his water. Valerie side-eyed him and continued talking. “A couple of years ago being on-call almost always meant I’d have a night off. We actually had resources then. Now when I’m inevitably called in, my go-to joke is that Daredevil’s been busy again.”

Karen smiled from ear to ear as Foggy covered his entire face with his cloth napkin. Marci patted his back as he tried to stop coughing.

“Are you ok?” Valerie asked him. 

“He’s fine,” Karen said as she drew her attention away from her flustered friend. Matt was sure to get a kick out of the events he missed. She couldn’t wait to tell him. 

“So Daredevil really keeps you guys busy, huh?”

“Is this an interview Ms. Page?” Valerie joked. “Because the official statement of Metro General is that the upsurge of criminals we’ve seen did the bone-breaking themselves.” 

Karen smiled and offered to pour her new friend a drink. “You allowed to have a drink on-call?” 

“Now there’s some ethical journalism!” Valerie laughed. 

Bruce finally looked up from his phone and acted interested in the woman he was supposed to be impressing.

“So what do you do, Karen?”

Karen could feel Foggy’s red cheeks from across the table. Valerie and Marci both rolled their eyes. 

She leaned forward and smiled. “I’m a flight attendant”

Bruce didn’t notice Valerie cover her mouth and snort. 

“Wow, you don’t say.” He placed his hand under his chin and listened for the first time of the night. 

“Where do you fly to?”

She had just watched a documentary on Iceland, so she said the first place that came to mind. 

“All over, but my current flight is JFK to Reykjavik.”

“Oh, Iceland?” She nodded, surprised that he was finally interested in something she had to say. “No way! I fly there all the time for work. I bet we’ve been on the same flight! Though I’m pretty sure I would have remembered someone as beautiful as you.”

Karen did not expect that. She felt the hair on the back of her neck raise as he looked her up and down like he was suddenly considering how much space she’d take up in an airplane bathroom. She nodded as she took a large gulp of wine and promised herself that the first comment on joining the “mile-high club” and she’d have enough of a reason to walk out. Foggy jumped to her rescue. 

“I’m going to call him. I can’t believe he’s late. I told him not to be late.”

Valerie smiled as he made the call. “Man, I hate setups. I’m always paranoid the guy showed up, saw me, and was like, “nope.”

“You won't have that problem,” Bruce said. He had met Matt a few times prior when he was visiting the Foggy at their office. It confused Valerie, who wasn’t sure if he was making a comment about her looks or what. Then she heard his name. 

“Hey, Matt,” Foggy spoke in his best voice that said, _I’m not trying to sound annoyed, but I’m definitely annoyed._ “No, I didn’t get that voicemail.” He sounded genuine, which told Karen that Matt had a valid enough reason for his best friend.

Valerie’s eyes opened wide as she watched Foggy walk away. 

“Wait, this guy’s name is _Matt_?” she asked nervously. 

Marci shrugged. “Yeah. Matt Murdock.”

“Is he blind?” 

Karen raised her eyebrow at her new acquaintance and spoke carefully. “He is…”

“Oh my God.”

“What?” Karen asked. She thought she liked Valerie, but she was starting to get the feeling that she wasn’t who she thought she was.

“Was he Foggy’s roommate?”

“Yeah...” Marci said. Karen noticed something about Marci’s comment. She almost looked… _too_ nervous. 

“The same one you set me up with, like, five years ago?”

Bruce, who hadn’t been paying attention, decided to re-enter the conversation. “What’s the issue?”

Valerie had gone suddenly pale, opening her mouth halfway and taking a shallow breath.

“What’s wrong, Valerie?” Karen asked. She could tell there was something more to her freak-out.

“The last time I saw him, it… It didn’t go well. I cried that entire date. My boyfriend of two years had just broken up with me and I didn’t really handle it well. He was nice. Like, _really_ nice. But it was so embarrassing.”

“That sucks,” Will chimed in. 

Everyone stared at him. “I just mean. I can’t imagine… I’ve never been dumped before, so, I guess that would...“ He drifted off. 

Karen ignored him, turning to Valerie. “That sounds like Matt.” She touched her arm, and Valerie smiled. 

Marci looked pretty caught off guard, which confused Karen, who was under the impression that she knew this information already. 

“I’m so sorry, Val. I forgot about that—“ she stopped herself. “Date. I thought you two would hit it off.”

Karen tried to help.

“He’s not going to care, Valerie. You were young and we’ve all been a bad date before.” Karen touched her hand to her forehead and tried to recover. “I mean, we’ve all been—”

Valerie laughed. “Don’t worry about it, that’s exactly what happened. You sure he won’t be an asshole? I know he was nice then, but…”

Karen smiled, and saw the relief in her eyes. “I’m sure.”

“He was tied up in court,” Foggy said as he hung up.

“That’s unfortunate,” Marci said. 

“It’s no big deal,” Valerie added. She looked really nervous, and Karen didn’t know what else she could say. She grabbed the bottle of wine and offered to pour her a glass again. She had come to terms with the fact that her coping mechanism in times of discomfort wasn’t healthy in the slightest. She told herself she was getting rid of her liquor bottles in the morning. The headache would be a reminder.

“Oh, I can’t, Karen, but thank you.” Valerie said apologetically.

“Shit, Sorry!”

Bruce started talking with Foggy about work again, which was a relief to Karen. 

Marci looked genuinely apologetic. It quelled Karen’s suspicions that this was done on purpose. A phone vibrated and Karen prayed it was Bruce’s. 

Valerie sighed, leaving the table to take the call outside.

“What if she got called in, Foggy?” Marci whispered from across the table. Karen eyed her friends who adjusted their voices so she could only catch a few words at a time. She caught a “I completely forgot that detail!” And “Your plan was terrible,” from Marci as Foggy seemed to talk her down from her angry ledge.

“So do you get discounts?”

Bruce was back to their previous conversation. Karen tried to hear the rest of Marci and Foggy’s argument, but she could feel his eyes on her. She turned her head and pasted a half-hearted smile on her face. 

“Discounts? On what?”

“Flying.”

Another turn of events took place outside the window behind Bruce. Karen saw Valerie hang up as Matt approached the building. She got his attention and Karen scrunched her nose as they stepped away from the door and dangerously close to being out of view.

“Why would I— oh, yeah. I do.”

Matt’s elbow was all she could see and he kept moving it, she assumed to drive her crazy. 

_Come inside_. _Don’t you dare leave._

He disappeared. 

“Shit it looks like I was right. This is going to be so awkward!” Marci whispered. Loudly. Karen started to wonder how much of the two bottles of wine the lawyer had consumed. 

Bruce caught her comment.

“What? Why?”

“Valerie looks like she leaving.” Foggy said in the hopes that Marci would catch on. “We’ll be uneven.”

Marci added on. “The guy who is now dateless— _he’s Karen’s ex_.”

Karen’s cheeks turned red, but nowhere near as red as Foggy’s. Karen had assumed Marci had applied a little doo much blush, but she told herself she knew better than that. Marci was always perfect. She felt a little bad for looking forward to a night of unnecessary comments from the only other blonde at the table. Their time as friends told her _that_ was a guarantee. 

“Wait, really?”

_Damn it. Marci comments mean consequences for you too, idiot._

“I wouldn’t call him an ex, necessarily,” Karen said honestly. Bruce didn’t look like he was into it. 

“ _That_ guy? He was your boyfriend?”

 _That’s it. I’m out._

“They went on, like, one date, Bruce. They’re friends.”

Thankfully Foggy drew his attention as Karen went into her phone’s sound settings to search for a new ringtone. It went off. Loudly. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” She looked down quickly and smiled. “It’s work. I have to take this.”

Foggy looked at her like he wasn’t buying her excuse for a minute. 

Bruce shrugged as Karen practically leapt from the table. 

“So, Marci, what do you do?”

 _“I work in the same office as you_ ,” she said through gritted teeth. 

Karen made her way toward the bathroom. She heard Foggy’s voice as he loudly welcomed Matt to their table. Karen sighed. He was the king of perfect timing. 

_How did you come here without a plan?_ She thought angrily. Then it hit her. Someone at their table owed her a favor. He owed her several hundred, actually

She pulled up his name in her contacts and stopped herself as she imagined Matt’s phone repeating Foggy’s name robotically whenever he called. It would be so obvious if the entire table hear “Karen” over and over again. There had to be a way to…

“Matt Murdock if you can hear me _you come here right now_!” She whispered quickly. She looked at their table and saw the back of his head. Not even a head tilt. 

Of course things couldn’t go her way. 

Her viewpoint was just wide enough to be able to picture herself running from their table to the actual exit. There was no way. She looked down the small space she was in and stared at the emergency exit mechanism, following the wires to their enclosed box like she somehow knew how to disable the loud sounds that the sign on the door promised should she make a break for it. Then she heard his voice.

“You _rang_?”

“I can’t believe it worked!” She said happily. Then she reverted to disaster mode. “What took you so long?”

“I’m sorry, Page, if I knew you had _missed_ me, I would have—“

“Shown up on time maybe?”

“Probably not.” Matt smiled. He hadn’t been lying about why he was late, but he hated being predictable that way. Even vigilantes experienced real-life issues that made them miss their engagements. “What can I help you with, Ms. Page?”

“Stop being cute and get me out of here.”

He laughed. “What? He’s not so bad.”

“You’ve had the pleasure of missing the majority of the conversation.”

“I mean, I _have_ been fortunate enough to be filled in. How’s _Reykjavik_ this time of year by the way?”

Matt smiled. Karen Page was an interesting woman to say the least. 

“Better than here,” she said in her sweetest voice.

“And what exactly prompted you to tell him you were a flight attendant?” 

“Because I figured if I was going to be ignored, I’d at least make it interesting.” She sighed. “My real career has been mentioned at least twice, but he only seems to be interested in making eyes at me or looking at his phone. Except when he’s talking about _contract law_. Or ignoring my subtle cues that I would like to be left alone.” 

He looked toward the emergency exit, realizing it _was_ in fact, armed, or he would have helped her out immediately. He figured going with logical might turn her around. “You know they’re going to _notice_ your disappearance, right?”

“I realize that and I still don’t care. Use that radar sense. Find me an out, Murdock. I can’t listen to that man for one more minute.”

“What about Marci and Foggy?”

“We can get _new_ friends, Matt.” She sounded incredibly positive for someone given her situation. He could tell she was trying to sway him her direction. “Not to mention _they_ did this to me.” She was very curious how they even paired her off with the man. It was definitely suspicious. 

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Wait, ‘we?’ When did _I_ get roped into this?”

She lowered her voice into a whisper. “I can’t believe _Daredevil_ is the name you operate under. Seems like ‘scaredy cat’ is more appropriate.” 

He had lowered his head enough for her to be able to see it in his eyes and that unbelievably cocky smile. He knew he had the upper hand and he may have enjoyed her petty attempt to insult him, but it wasn’t going to work.

He leaned in to whisper. “That’s _interesting_. But the thing you seem to have forgotten is, I’m not the one who is trying to _escape_ a blind date.”

Karen leaned in closer. She was just as stubborn as he was. 

“ _Your date_ already did that _for_ you _._ ”

His mouth dropped open and he clutched his chest. “That’s _hurtful_ , Page! I can’t believe you would say something so… _harmful_ to a man who was just stood up and _still_ planned to help you!” He shook his head in mock disappointment. “And I think that just sealed your fate. I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Flight attendants are supposed to be good at thinking on their feet.” He turned to fake-leave, but she pulled his arm and squeezed.

“No, no, no, I’m _sorry_ , Matt. Super super sorry. You’re a _great_ date when you _show up_ , I’m sure it wasn’t you—“ she couldn’t continue thanks to his cocky smile. “—even though it _was_. It _absolutely_ was you.”

He smiled that annoying smile that made her want to make out with him or say something biting to make it disappear. She was never really sure.

“I’d love to help you, but I think this is only going to make _me_ look bad. I mean he saw me and said, ‘oh look, it’s the jealous ex-boyfriend.’ We lawyers have to network and I don’t want to make a bad impression, you know?”

“If you were a _decent_ ex-boyfriend, you would fix this situation for me.”

“I don’t know, Karen, he really likes you. He told me he was willing to fight for you...”

She glared at him. “ _He did not_.”

There was that stupid smile again. “You’re right. His heart did jump when I headed in the same direction of his _lovely_ date, however, so I think it’s best if I go back…”

“That’s a good idea. Can you do me a favor though?”

“Anything, my love”

She felt a vein start to pulse and touched her temple. 

“You are the _worst_. But you are going to do exactly what I say… for our friendship.”

“Anytime, now…” he touched his watch.

“Go out there and tell him I’m crazy.”

“Hmmm. I’m pretty sure that _would_ make me look like the jealous ex-boyfriend, beautiful.”

“What do you want Murdock? I don’t have all day.”

“I mean, that all depends on how badly you want out…”

She couldn’t believe he was bargaining. It made her want him just a little bit more. She took note to find a therapist and work out that issue later.

“Badly.”

He nodded. “I think, that if I do this for you... maybe the slate is wiped clean. Every terrible thing just gets…” he snapped, “forgotten.”

She shook her head and smiled at just how evil he turned out to be. 

“ _Wow_.”

“I know it’s a big ask. And I really would do _anything_ to help you out,”

“Clearly.”

“The thing is... that guy is pretty terrible.”

“Uh huh.”

“And you are in a really tough spot.”

“It’s great that you recognize that.” She smiled her scary nice smile and nodded. “I’m beginning to wonder if this whole secondary occupation you have is actually just a lie. You don’t seem to be the type who saves people for _free_.”

He nodded like her implication that he actually wasn’t her favorite vigilante was a very clever ruse. “That level of deception would be a great deal of work—“

“ _And we both know you’re really bad at lying.”_

He ignored her. “I can promise you I am _exactly_ who you think I am. The things is, though, I’m just Matt Murdock right now.” He leaned in. “And, honestly, if _he_ were the person I was up against, I’d probably just run the other direction. Guys like him _love_ to talkduring a fight. That’s when you just call the cops.”

“I’ll remember this the next time I cover one of your ‘good deeds’ for _The Bulletin_ , Matt.”

He nodded and shrugged. “You may be bored to death before then.”

“Man I want to _just_ … You know if _you_ hadn’t screwed _this_ up, I wouldn’t be guilted into blind dates, now would I?”

He smiled. “You think we’d still be together?”

“I think we’d be married with three kids by now.” 

It was pretty easy math, but he fake-thought about it for a second as she continued to squirm. “That’s not even possible.” 

She raised her voice. “I’m not thinking clearly!"

Matt’s face became serious. “He heard that.” 

“Damn it. Is he coming back here?” 

“He asked Foggy about you and… yep, he’s getting up.” 

Matt felt bad. He searched the vicinity and didn’t find a decent place for her to go. The bathroom was tiny and she’d run into him if he chose to wait for her outside. Not to mention _he_ was still back here. It didn’t matter; he lifted his finger in the air. “What about—“

She did the last thing he’d expected. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her pressing her lips into his. It didn’t take any thought on his part. When Karen Page kissed you, you kissed back. His left hand found her waist, his right slid under her hair as she pressed into his neck.

They both forgot their surroundings, completely enveloped in each other. Matt had barely heard Bruce’s footsteps, drifting back to her as her fingers dipped under his collar. Bruce stood dumbfounded for a solid half-minute before muttering, “Jesus. Seriously?” and turning around. 

Matt heard him go out to their table and make an excuse to Foggy, who was very intrigued at what the final straw was, but he got nothing.

Karen finally pulled away. “Think that worked?”

Matt nodded as he fixed a button that had come undone. “Yeah, he’s been gone for about a minute.”

She smacked his shoulder lightly. “You could have told me that!”

“My morality has already come into question twice tonight. I think it’s probably something I need to discuss with my priest.”

She kissed his cheek anyway. “Thank you.”

“Yeah. Um, I guess you’ll owe me one.”

She laughed on her way back to the table, stopping only when she saw Foggy shaking his head. 

“Bad news,” Foggy started. “Your dates have both abandoned you. I would say it’s not _you_ , but,” he shrugged. 

Karen felt a sense of relief for the first time all night. She figured it was the right time to give Foggy a piece of her mind.

“Foggy, that was without a doubt, the worst choice you have ever made. I can’t believe I trusted you to pick someone for me to spend time with.”

“Hey, I tried to get _you two_ together, remember that? That wasn’t so…”

Karen smiled at him like she was waiting for him to finish.

Matt fixed his tie. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving!”

**Author's Note:**

> For meinhiding,
> 
> One of my absolute favorite humans, and someone who would understand my need to write out my frustration. We'll get our happy moment eventually, love. We can be bitter together until then.


End file.
